Can-opener.



H. TILL.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED IEB.17,1914.

1,112,039. Patented Sepl129, 1914.

hil

UNITED STATE S HENRY TILL, OF PITTSIBUBG, CALIFORNIA.

CAN-OPENER.

Specification of letters Patent. Patented Sept, 29, 1914.

Application filed February 17, 1914. Serial Ho. 810,245.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY TILL, citizen of the United States residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Contra Costa and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in can openers, being an improvement over can openers of the typeset forth in .my copending applications filed October 10, 1912 and January 2, 1913 and bearing the Serial Nos. 725,096 and 739,921, respectively. 7

The primary object of my present inven tion consists in the provision of a novel and more efi'ective form of seat in thecan top to receive the piercing prong or prongs of the opener.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide the top ofthe can with a seat or seats to receive the prong or prongs of the opener so constructed that the piercing end or ends of the opener need notbe raised directly upward to free them of the seat, a mere swinging of the opener about its pivotal point serving to raise the prong or prongs from their seat or seats to the can t p. a

A will further object of my invention is to construct the seat in the can top in such a manner that when swinging the piercing prong into the seat, all likelihood of swing-- ing it too far and consequentlyout of the seat on the opposite side, is avoided; And a still further object of myinvention is to provide an improved can opener proper in: cluding a single prong carrying member pivoted centrally of its length and centrally of the can top' and provided at each of its r ends with a piercing prong.

With these and other objectspin view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and then specifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the drawing :--Figure 1 is a perspective yiew of a conventional form of can with my improved can opener applied thereto; Fig. 2 is acentral sectional view taken longitudinally of the canopener proper and disclosing. the formation of the prong receiving seats formed, in the top of the can. Fig. 3 is a ra m nt ry sectional view tak n t right angles-to the view shown in Fig. 2 and on the line 3-3 of such figure; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a can and can opener of the general type disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3, but showing a slightly modified form of prong receiving seat. Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

In the drawing, which illustrates the preferred form of my invention, 10 indicates a .can of conventional type, such as is commonly employed as a container for evaporated milk, cream and similar food products and 11 the top of the can. This can topis upstruck centrally to provide a tubular stud 12 upon which is pivotally mounted the can opener proper 13. This can opener includes a body portion formed from a single strip of metal perforated centrally for passage over the stud 12 and retained upon the can top by upsetting of the stud as shown at .14. The ends of the strip forming the can opener are rebent to extend between the body por-. tion and top of the can and further bent to provide piercing prongs 15. The manner of constructing these prongs from the metal I of' the strip itself is clearly set forth in my andas it forms no part of the present invention all further description of such construction is deemed unnecessary; The side portions of the strip forming the body of are upbent as shown at 16 to provide finger grips to permit ready grasping of the opener pivot. 1

dental piercing of the can top 'by the prongs 15, during shipment or storage, the can top pressions or seats 17 of such. proportipns as to completely receive the prongs .15 ln-the manner shown in Figs. 1 to 3 ofthe drawing, these seats being preferably struck out or otherwise formed at the same timethat the tubular stud 12 is formed. As best are disposedas closely as ble to thep Pi mtbecanas near-the periphe l= as E M1610 fauna th m copending applications above referred to;

the opener, immediately adjacentthe prongs,

toswing the same. about the stud 12 use In order to prevent unintentional or acci is pi'ovidedwith diametrically disposed de-' shown-in Fig. 1 of the drawing, these seats;

ripheral edge of the top 111 that'the opener maybe constructed with p p to tents therefrom. These 'seats are curved longitudinally, being concentrically formed with respect to the can top. More specifi cally,'these seats each include a bottom portion 18 and upwardly diverging side portions 19, the bottom portion being preferably horizontally disposed and having. its ends inclined upwardly as shown at 20 in Fig. 3. The side walls 19 may be vertically depressions of such nature is more apt to injure the can top and cause leakage and for this reason seats with inclined side faces, such as'shown, are preferred. The inclined end portions of the bottom faces or walls of the recesses should be of such length that their inclination will be at least enough to permit ready upward riding of the piercing. prongs upon turning of the opener about its pivot 12, while at the same time, the horizontal intermediate portion of'the bottom wall will, under normal circumstances, prevent casual disengagement of the prongs from their seats and also over movement of the opener when swinging the latter to posi-' tion its prongs in their seats. If desired, of course, this horizontal portion may be done away .With and the bottom wall consist merely of oppositely and upwardly inclined ortions. In any case, the recess shoul at least be equal in depth to the length of the piercing prong which it is to seat in order to absolutely prevent any piercing of thecan *by the prong when the latter is in its seat.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawing, the operation of my improved can opener will be readily understood. During shipment or storage, the can opener occupies the position shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, its piercing prongs being located in their respective seats. When the can is to be opened, the opener 13 is swung about its pivot 12 by grasping one or both sets of finger grips 16 and'thus revolving the opener with respect to the can, the resiliency of the metal strip forming the, body'of the opener permitting the piercln prongs to readily ride up the inclined term nals of the bottom walls of the 50 recesses o'r'seatsuntil the piercing prongs rest with their pointed ends upon the can top proper. Pressure appliedto the free ends of the opener will then force the piercing prongsthr'ough the metal constituting the top of the can to provide openings through whickthe liquid contained in the can may pass and also through whichair may pass into the can as the liquid contents are removed therefrom.

As pointed out in my previous 9. plications', the prongs may be then raise from the openings formed and the opener swung back to t the prongs in the recesses or ts 17. If all of the contents of the can 85 are not to be oved at once, the opener' disposed, if desired, but the'construction of,

may be again swung to bring the prongs into vertical alinement with the openings which they have formed in the can top when the resiliency of the body portion of the opener will immediately cause them to enter the openings which they have previously formed and act as closures therefor.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a slightly modified form of can opener construction in which 21 indicates the can and 22 the can top. In this form of construction, the can top is provided centrally with a circular depression 23 to receive the head 24 of a rivet or other suitable fastening device, the head being firmly fixed in this seat by solder or other suitable means. The opener 25 is centrally pivoted upon this-rivet and retained in place by upsetting the rivet stem as shown at 26. This form of opener is formed at its ends with piercing prongs 27 similar to the prongs 15 and with finger grips 28 corresponding to the finger grips 16.

The chief distinction in construction between the form of can opener shown in Fig. 4 and that shown in Figs. 1 and 8, resides in the construction of the prong receiving seats 29. These seats are formed at diametrically opposite parts of the can top and are curved longitudinally, being formed concentrically of the can top as are the seats in the referred form of construction. Each of t ese seats, however, includes substantially verti- 'cally disposed side walls 30 and a substantially vertically disposed end wall 31, the bottom wall 32 being inclined u wardly from the lower end of the end wal 31 to merge into the plane of the can top, it of course being understood that the seats are reversely formed in the can top in order that the inclined lower walls 32 may extend in opposite directions so that rotation of the opener 25 will move both piercing prongs out of their seats.

The construction shown in Fig. 4 is in some ways preferable to that shown in Figs. 1 and 3 in that it is absolutely impossible, when swinging the opener to position its prongs in their seats, to swing it to bring the prongs past their seat. Onthe other hand, it of course possesses the disadvantage that when the opener is moved to operative position it can be swung only in one direction.

The resiliency of the strip 13 forming the body portion of the opener is of great importance as it insures the firm holding of the piercing points or prongs in the openings which they form in the top of the can until manually raised from such openings, irrespective of the position of the can. For this reason, the opener, when swung to active position, may be employed by inverting the can and pressing it upon the top of a table, thereby forcing the prongs upwardly to pierce thecantop, no leaking of the can contents occurring as the prongs remain in the openings formed. Because of this, cans formed of relatively heavy or tough metal may be pierced with comparative ease.

Although I have illustrated but two forms of my invention, it will of course be understood that the seats may be formed in different ways, within the scope of the appended claims, without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention. 1 Y

It will further be understood that the can opener proper may be pivoted eccentrically of the can or pivotally mounted at one end and provided at its free end-with a single piercing prong.

lti wil l -'urther be understood that the opener. may he pivota-lly mounted in either of thewayss'hown in fthe drawing or in any other suitable mannergifi desired.

'Having thus described the invention, what ,i'sclaimed as new is Li'The combination with a container top, of'a'n opener having a piercing element pivoted on the top, the top being instruck to provide a seat having an inclined bottom wall to receive the piercing element.

12. The combination with a container top, of an opener having a piercing element pivoted on the top, the top being instruck to provide a seat concentrically curved with respect to the pivot point of the opener and having an inclined bottom wall.

3. The combination with a container top, of an opener having a piercing member pivoted on the top, the top being instruck to provide a seat including spaced side walls and a bottom wall having a horizontal central portion and upwardly inclined end portions.

4. The combination with a container top, of an opener having a piercing member pivoted on the top, the top being instruck to provide a seat including spaced side walls and a bottom wall having a horizontal central portion and upwardly inclined end portions, said bottom wall being curved concentrically of the pivot oint of the opener.

5. The combination w1th a container top, of an opener pivoted centrally of its length and provided at its ends with piercing prongs, the top being instruck at diametrically opposite points to provide seats to receive the prongs, said seats each including an inclined bottom wall over which the prongs ride.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnemes.

HENRY TILL. [I.. s.]

Witnesses:

JAS. Frrzonnam, W. J. HALL. 

